


The Apocalypse

by Lost_Robin



Series: Opposite Sides of the World [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:46:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26077429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_Robin/pseuds/Lost_Robin
Summary: A little more than ten years after their lives changed forever, Chuck, Mako, and Anna finally might be able to do something to change the tide of the war.
Series: Opposite Sides of the World [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1308959
Comments: 6
Kudos: 2





	1. A Grinding Halt

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, this is getting published while the previous work is still being written. Part of this is because this was actually written first, and the other part is that I am really excited to see what people say about it.
> 
> Note: Some of the dialogue in this chapter is taken from the movie _Pacific Rim_.

The day Chuck Hansen came to the Hong Kong Shatterdome happened to be the day that Lars Gottlieb left after telling Stacker that he had a month left of funding before the UN shut down the PPDC for good. Anna, the only translator and admin the PPDC had left, had had to translate her grandfather’s furious German when Lars was so angry that he switched back to his native tongue. And then Hermann’s, when he heard what had happened and what his father had done. And then even Newt’s, when he, too, was angry with the UN.

She still wore the chocolate brown jumper every day, over her blouse and skirt, gray and black, respectively, because they didn’t stain from coming in contact with Newt’s infernal experiments. Her stockings, a necessity due to the helicopters always taking off, were tucked into sensible black shoes, meant for climbing up and down the various ladders and stairs in the Shatterdome. She also wore a pair of gym shorts she had liberated from Chuck when they were still teenagers. For propriety’s sake, of course.

Lars had won. The Wall of Life was being built and the Shatterdomes were being closed. The Anchorage Shatterdome, the last place Anna had been able to see both of her best friends in person at the same time, was the first to shut down. The others followed not long after.

She had managed to keep in touch with both Chuck and Mako, though the two were no longer speaking to each other. Mako was in Hong Kong now, which meant that Anna at least got to see her every day now that she and Hermann were stationed there. Chuck was still in Sydney, at one of the last Shatterdomes. He would be going to Hong Kong soon, where the PPDC was born. It would die there too, Anna thought as she fetched chalk for Hermann as he did his equations and calculations to determine the next time the Breach would spit something out.

Max was the first one off of the helicopter, and he was the one that Anna greeted. She crouched to the ground, mindful not to make even more of a mess of her skirt, and rubbed his back and his belly, cooing how much she missed him in English, French, and German. And then Chuck got out of the helicopter and Anna had to pause.

Gone was the scrawny ginger kid who she had met all of those years ago in Hong Kong. Actually, he had grown up when they were fourteen and he was training at the academy, but Anna hadn’t noticed him as someone she was possibly interested in then. Back then, he had just been Chuck, who she explored the Shatterdome with and who she was pretty sure had seen her naked more times than almost anyone else in the world, excluding Mako. They had grown up together and sometimes that meant that they changed clothing in the same room.

And that fact now made her positively pink. Good going, Gottlieb.

“What, you’re just going to greet the dog?” Chuck asked, standing in front of Anna and Max.

Anna stood up, shoving her sweater sleeves back. “It’s nice to see you, Chuck,” she said. “I just wish it were under better circumstances.”

Chuck hugged her, holding tightly onto her for a second before letting go.

“The old place hasn’t changed much, has it?” he asked, hefting his duffel bag over his shoulder. “Who’s in charge now?”

“Marshal Pentecost. He gave us our old rooms back.”

Except that Anna had been living in her old room for almost a year now. It had been ten years since they had moved here, but it felt like nothing had changed at all.

Chuck grinned. “Feels just like home, right?” he asked. “I suppose you’ve been sent to show us around?”

Anna shook her head. “No,” she said, her smile fading. “Actually, I have some news that you’re not going to like.”

She knew how Chuck would react to the news of the PPDC shutting down, and that was the entire reason why she had begged Stacker to let her be the one to break it to Striker Eureka. Well, to Chuck. Herc knew, he knew almost before Anna herself did, but she wanted to be the one to be there when Chuck inevitably lost it.

Herc got out of the helicopter. “Little Miss Anna,” he said. “You’ve grown up.”

Anna smiled and hugged the man, who was like another uncle to her.

“Why don’t the two of you come inside?” she said, already going towards the doors, Max at her heels. “We have refreshments and I can tell you the news.”

Anna’s job that week was to inform the pilots who arrived at the Shatterdome that they were going to have to cease operations in the coming weeks. The funding would stop in about a month, all of it being shifted to pay for that stupid wall. The little funding the council had already given them was almost used up. Running a Shatterdome was expensive, more expensive than Anna had previously thought.

Her job was almost finished, seeing as Chuck and Herc were the last team they were waiting for. It was the most painful team to break the news to, seeing how Chuck’s face fell. And then his immediate rage.

“What?” Chuck asked, standing up. “They’re closing us for that bloody wall?”

Anna nodded. “Funding runs out on the twenty-eighth of next month,” she said. “We’re going to be on our own after that.”

She had tried to get more funding, but Lars had put his foot down because he was so enamoured with that bloody wall that he was going to destroy the world just so it could succeed.

“No,” Herc said. “We’re going to be no more.”

“Exactly. But Uncle Hermann’s been doing some research and there’s going to be a bigger event, something massive.”

They had tried to tell Lars that, but he was being pig-headed and ridiculous. He thought that his wall was a good idea, trashing the program he had built a decade prior in the process.

“I’ll meet with the Marshal,” Herc said.

“He’ll be in his office,” Anna said. “Since we’ve lost quite a bit of funding, I happen to be the admin for the entire Shatterdome now, not just Uncle Hermann. If there’s anything you need, within a reasonable request, I’ll attempt to procure it.”

Herc left, leaving Anna, Chuck, and Max in the conference room.

“What the bloody hell?” Chuck snarled. “They’re shutting us down despite the fact that their wall is a piece of crap.”

Anna watched her friend as he let out his anger. He had never been very good at expressing his emotions in a healthy way. Drifting with his father often didn’t help matters at all. Caitlin had a theory that drifting too young and too frequently had a negative effect on the mental state of the pilot, but they didn’t have the resources to do anything about it.

“Yes, but you know what they’re like,” Anna said. “They just care about the money, and building a wall is much cheaper than Jaegers, despite the inefficiency.”

Hermann had done the maths, and he had come to the conclusion that, while it was much cheaper to build the wall than a single Jaeger, the Kaiju could destroy the wall within one or two Breach openings, as Slattern had proved.

“And the Marshal sent you to tell us.”

She had been the one to greet the Kaidonovskies, which had been much more pleasant than this, though that had mostly been because Stacker had needed to tell them what was going on so they could secure the bomb.

“My job this week is to inform every single Jaeger pilot that arrives here that we’re closing in a month, Chuck,” she said, sitting at the head of the conference table. “And when I’m not doing that, I’m helping the Marshal attempt to get more funding, but the UN is a bunch of arses who think their bloody wall is the best thing since sliced bread.”

The council was starting to avoid her calls. But that was fine. Caitlin and Sergio were there, fighting for funding. And her grandfather didn’t avoid her calls, not that she wanted to talk to him. All he talked about was how she couldn’t see that the wall was the better idea, that the PPDC was a money sink.

“So I guess the job’s working out fine,” Chuck said, attempting a joke.

The look Anna leveled on him implied that she didn’t find it funny at all, given that he had seen the same look on her uncle when he had been at the academy. It was a look that terrified him, especially from Anna.

“Guess what else?” she asked. “Jake got himself kicked out of the academy a couple months ago.”

Jake Pentecost, Stacker’s biological son, had been going to the academy and acing his training, possibly becoming the best pilot since his father. He had a co-pilot and the best record at the academy other than Mako. And then he had to go be an idiot.

“Didn’t he try to do a solo?” Chuck asked.

“He did. He took three bloody steps and fainted, almost causing another Jaeger, one that we desperately needed, to be destroyed.” Anna sighed. “But it doesn’t matter, since he’s run off and now we’re left to deal with all of this crap.”

They could have used Mammoth Apostle, which had been at the academy waiting for new pilots, especially if Jake hadn’t managed to get himself kicked out of the academy. He was a good pilot, as was Nate. But, since Jake was a stupid teenager, they were down yet another Jaeger. At least they were able to salvage Mammoth for parts, though Nate was now working J-Tech just in case he was drift-compatible with Stacker’s secret weapon.

She only hoped that they had someone compatible with Raleigh Becket. She didn’t know what they would do if there wasn’t anyone.

Chuck got up. “Come on,” he said.

“Where are we going?” Anna asked, getting up.

“I can almost feel the stress coming off of you. Besides, I haven’t gotten to stretch today,” he said, rolling his shoulders. “Let’s go get some of that tension out of you, ‘kay?”

Anna smiled. “Well, I suppose I could help keep the best Ranger in the program in shape,” she said. “Come on, Maxie. I’ve hidden some treats for you in the dome.”

Most of them were in Striker Eureka’s bay, but there were a few hidden in not-so-obvious places. She just hoped Tendo didn’t find the ones she had hidden in LOCCENT. He would need to be bribed with bagels or coffee, and they were running low on both.

“Are you spoiling my dog?” Chuck asked as they walked to the sparring room.

“He just knows who gives him cuddles and pats,” Anna said.

“Mate, you’ve got to stop falling for a pretty face,” Chuck said to Max, petting him.

Anna’s cheeks flushed with color. “You’re just trying to soften me up so I’ll take it easy on you.”

Chuck grinned. “Did it work?” he asked.

“You’ll just have to find out, won’t you?”

Once they were there, Chuck grabbed two staffs. Anna gently put her jumper on one of the chairs and kicked off her shoes before undoing her blouse.

“What are you doing?” Chuck asked.

Anna pulled her blouse off, revealing a white tank top, dog tags swinging above it. “Can’t exactly spar in a blouse and a skirt, now can I?” she asked. “That’d be giving you an advantage.”

She shimmied out of her skirt and stockings, leaving her in just a tank top and gym shorts.

“Are those my shorts?” Chuck asked, trying to pretend that he wasn’t staring at his best friend’s legs.

“They’re mine now,” Anna said. “Are we going to spar or what?”

“Of course.” He tossed a staff at her. “Ever get the chance to attend the academy?”

“Not really, but the Marshal said it wasn’t a problem,” Anna said, spinning her staff. “Not like they need new pilots, anyway.”

“If the old man ever retires, you need to get trained.”

Chuck was still in denial about the program, about his life for the past six years, ending in a little more than a month. He hadn’t thought about what would come after the war, and Anna was starting to think that there wouldn't  _ be _ life after the war.

Anna laughed. “Like that’ll ever happen,” she said, moving towards him. “You know he loves piloting just as much as you do.”

“Only thing he ever seems to care about,” Chuck grumbled.

“He cares about you, Chuck.”

“Can we just spar?” he asked. “I don’t want to think about the old man right now.”

Anna smiled. “If you insist,” she said, bowing.

The two, according to illicit experiments they had done as teenagers, were drift-compatible. As were Anna and Mako, who had always talked about how they were going to become co-pilots one day, even designing their potential Jaeger. Watching Chuck and Anna fight wasn’t the same as watching him and Herc fight.

While Herc would always have the advantage over Chuck, given his age and experience, Anna and Chuck, on most days, were evenly matched. Chuck was a brawler, but most of Anna’s fighting had been self-taught, from watching the pilots and copying their moves. She couldn’t use muscle to her advantage, so she would use her opponent’s size to her advantage. She had figured out how to flip Chuck over her shoulder by the time they were fifteen. Sasha Kaidonovsky had taught her that one when the older pilot had taught her and Mako some self-defense.

They matched each other point-for-point, and Anna started feeling a little calmer. A lot out of shape, but calmer.

“Well, seems like you’re still in shape,” Anna wheezed when they were done, plopping down on the floor.

For once in her life, she was well and truly exhausted.

Chuck laid down next to her, looking up at the ceiling. “Sure you’re just an assistant?” he wheezed.

“Absolutely,” she said, lying down next to him. “Uncle Hermann needs me and so does the Marshal. Mako’s working on the restoration project, so someone has to help run things behind the scenes.”

She had been kept on as all of the other admins had left, as the translators were called back to the UN. Lars had tried to call her to New York, to secure her a position at the UN, but she had turned him down.

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. Max waddled over and laid over them, wagging his stumpy tail.

“It’s almost like when we were younger,” Anna said.

“Everything’s changed,” Chuck said. “They’re closing us down.”

“We’ll just have to keep fighting until the end, then, won’t we?”

“Yeah.”

They stayed like that for a little while, exhausted and half-asleep, until Anna’s phone beeped to let her know that Striker Eureka was finally in place.

“Striker’s in the bay,” Anna said, not moving from where she was curled up on Chuck.

“Great,” Chuck said. “Kind of don’t want to move.”

Anna snuggled closer to him, resting her hand on his chest. “Sounds good to me,” she said. “Remember the first time we were here?”

“Weren’t we still eleven?” he asked. “Dad set us loose in here so he could get some time to do paperwork. Gave us some staffs and told us to go nuts.”

“And I accidentally smacked you in the stomach,” Anna said.

That had been before Mako had been adopted by Stacker. Chuck and Anna had been the only children in the Shatterdome for almost a year. Even if there had been other children in that first year, they still would have become best friends.

Chuck chuckled, his breath warming the top of Anna’s head. “Those were the days,” he said. “Our biggest worries were how to sneak pudding out of the kitchens and avoiding homework.”

Sneaking food out of the dining hall had been easy. Avoiding homework, especially once the Shatterdome had hired a teacher, wasn’t. Their teacher (he insisted on being called their instructor) had been former military, like almost every single person in the Shatterdome. He even got the Rangers in on it; Anna knew for a fact that Aleksis Kaidonovsky could have a teenager over each shoulder and not even pause.

“We should get down to the bay,” Anna said.

“Check on my ride, make sure everything’s ship-shape,” Chuck said, not getting up. “Couldn’t we just sleep here for a little while?”

“It’s bad for your back to sleep on the floor.”

“Fine, fine. Get off so I can get up.”


	2. A Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chuck meets Raleigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note, some of the dialogue during the lunch scene is from the movie _Pacific Rim_. I, obviously, do not own the movie.

They arrived in the bay a few minutes later, Max at Chuck’s heels. Herc nodded at them, noticing how Anna had changed clothes since he had seen her only an hour before. Maybe his son wasn’t a complete idiot.

“When are the other pilots arriving?” Herc asked.

“Aleksis and Sasha arrived a few months ago,” Anna said, pulling her hair back in a ponytail. “The Wei triplets are still here and… Well… I’m not sure who will be piloting Danger. We’ll be deciding that later.”

“That’s the Beckets’ ride,” Chuck said. “Thought the younger brother retired from duty.”

There had been a time when Chuck had looked up to Raleigh Becket. But that had been years prior, before Raleigh had left the PPDC. Had this simply been a regular day in the Shatterdome, she would have brought up the fact that all three of them had, at various times, had crushes on either (or both, in both Chuck and Anna’s cases; Mako had only had eyes for Yancy) of the Becket boys.

“He did,” Anna said. “But… He might not be retired for much longer, if the Marshal has anything to say about it.”

She wasn’t very sure about the whole plan, but it was better than sitting around, waiting for funding to drop in their laps. If it weren’t for the fact that the entire administrative staff other than Anna had been let go due to funding, Anna would have been on her way to New York to argue with her grandfather over the budget for the PPDC.

“Who’s going to be his co-pilot?” Herc asked.

Anna smiled, using what the press called her ‘Dazzling Darling’ smile. “I was hoping that the two of you could volunteer for some tests,” she said. “It would mean so much to the Marshal.”

Stacker had also used most of the PPDC’s inability to say no to Anna to his advantage, sending her to get people signed up to test for drift-compatibility. It was probably her most valuable contribution to the PPDC.

While Hermann had been calculating Breach predictions, Anna had been meeting with the council almost weekly, arguing for more funding. They had humored her, because she was Lars’ granddaughter and he preferred to be the one to lecture her, but the Americans had shut her down more than once, arguing that the wall was their best chance at survival.

Chuck gave her a dirty look. “You’ve got to be joking,” he said.

“I’m not. We’re having all of the current pilots test for Drift-compatibility,” Anna said, still smiling. She held out her clipboard to Chuck. “Please write your name on the next available line.”

Herc took the clipboard and wrote down his and his son’s names.

“Thank you,” Anna said, taking her clipboard back. “Come on, Chuck. It won’t hurt you to spar with someone.”

“I already have a co-pilot, unless a certain someone else has gotten her wings,” Chuck said.

She shook her head.

“Still won’t let you?” he asked.

“Chuck, enough,” Herc said quietly. He spotted Stacker, Mako, and Raleigh. “Excuse me,” he said, walking over to the group.

“Gentlemen, welcome to Hong Kong,” Stacker said.

Mako called Max over to her, petting the dog. Other than Chuck and Herc, Mako and Anna were the two humans he loved most.

She hung back as Stacker explained the plan to Raleigh. She still wasn’t sure about all of this. If that had been a viable plan, why hadn’t anyone thought of it before? Then Stacker gestured for her to come forward.

“And this is Miss Gottlieb,” Stacker said.

Raleigh grinned. “Little Miss Anna,” he said. “What’re you doing for the PPDC?”

“Administrative work, mostly,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again, though I wish it were under better circumstances.”

Raleigh chuckled. “The Darling of the Jaeger Program is here as well,” he said. “You really did get everyone.”

Despite Anna growing up, the nickname had lasted. It had been a propaganda tool, back when the PPDC had been popular and the public wanted to know just who was involved in the Jaeger Program. Now, it just reminded her of how much things had changed.

Anna grimaced. “Miss Gottlieb will do, Ranger,” she said. “J-Tech has asked me to remind you to report to the labs first thing in the morning so we can do the necessary tests before figuring out who your copilot will be.”

“Could you and Miss Mori show Mister Becket to his Jaeger?” Stacker asked.

Anna nodded. “Good luck with the council, sir.”

“Max, come here,” Chuck called.

Max, ever dutiful, trotted over to Chuck, who patted his flank. Anna smiled at Raleigh, wishing that Chuck, for once in his life, could be polite.

“And that tosser over there is Chuck Hansen,” she said, gesturing with her head that Chuck should come over and play nice with the other pilot. “Co-pilot of Striker Eureka. And Max, the best dog in the world.”

“If you’re not a pilot, why are you dressed like one?” Raleigh asked.

Anna looked down and remembered that she was still in a jumper that hung open to reveal a vest top, and gym shorts. At least she had put her shoes back on. When she had been younger, she would have run around without even those. Until Hermann caught her, at least.

“My apologies,” she said, her cheeks heating up. “I was assisting a pilot in preparing for deployment. Mako, I’ll check with the pilots and see what they need.”

“Thank you,” Mako said, nodding at her.

They had gotten the chance to work together on the Jaeger restoration program, but it hadn’t been as fun as Anna had hoped that it would be. Nothing was very fun these days.

Anna walked over to Chuck as Mako and Raleigh headed for Danger’s bay. Chuck didn’t look up from Max.

“I know it’s been a long day,” Anna said, patting Max, “but try to make nice with the other pilots. We’re all here to save the world, remember?”

“I know,” Chuck said. “We should get lunch soon.”

They went to the mess hall, Anna staking out the table they had sat at all those years ago. It felt like nothing had really changed. Chuck got their trays and put them down on the table, a bowl for Max set next to Chuck’s seat, like it always was. They got most of lunch eaten before Herc came into the mess hall.

Chuck was already glaring at Raleigh. And here Anna had hoped that everyone could just play along while they were racing towards the end of the world. She should have been realistic.

“Raleigh,” Herc said, walking down to the seating area. “Come sit with us.”

“It’s fine,” Raleigh said.

“No, I insist. There’s plenty of room at our table.”

Once they had sat down, Herc put a generous heap of potatoes on his and Raleigh’s trays.

“Real potatoes?” Raleigh asked.

Anna nodded. “Supplemented with instant, but we’re getting more fresh food now,” she said. “There’s even supposed to be a shipment of fresh fruit coming in next week.”

While the council may have been less than enthused with the PPDC’s performance, the actual countries they protected were usually much more generous with their praise. The one good thing about being in Hong Kong was that they had quite a bit of fresh fish.

“Raleigh, this is my son Chuck, my co-pilot,” Herc said.

When Raleigh had last been in the PPDC, Herc had still been piloting Lucky Seven with his brother. Anna was just glad the Marshal hadn’t suggested that they bring Scott Hansen back into the PPDC. That would have caused a rather large problem that she didn’t have the brain-space to solve. And she would have had to spend all of her time trying to keep Chuck from punching his uncle once he had heard what Scott had done that got him kicked out of the PPDC rather than on important administrative tasks.

Well, punching him would have been where Chuck had started, but not finished.

It had been kept a secret from Chuck for a reason. They had  _ tried _ to keep it a secret from Anna, but she had needed to know. Someone had to protect Chuck from himself, though Anna would have let him get a few swings at Scott before she stopped him. She had gone into the personnel files to see what, exactly, Scott Hansen had done, and she had sworn that they wouldn't have brought him back even if he were the last Jaeger pilot alive.

Okay, maybe she wouldn't have interrupted Chuck for a few minutes.

“He’s more my co-pilot,” Chuck said. “Right, Dad?”

Anna elbowed Chuck in the gut, causing him to spill his gravy.

“So,” Chuck said, shooting Anna a dirty look. “You’re the guy who’s gonna run defense for me in that old rust bucket of yours.”

“That’s the plan,” Raleigh said.

“Good. So, when’s the last time you jockeyed, Ray?”

Chuck knew exactly when Raleigh had last been inside of a Jaeger. Anna glared at him, not wanting to waste more gravy. The Shatterdome gravy was very good, and the mashed potatoes were very dry due to the amount of instant potato they were supplemented with.

“About five years ago,” Raleigh said quietly.

“What have you been doing for the past five years?”

“I was in construction.”

Anna put her hand on Chuck’s arm, really hoping that he didn’t get into a fight in the dining hall. It was one of the more expensive rooms to fix, due to the kitchen equipment. At least the Kaidonovskies were nearby; they could hold Chuck back if need be. Aleksis was already sizing up the situation.

“Oh, that’s great,” Chuck said, venom hidden under his happy tone. “We get into a fight, you can build our way out of it, Ray.”

Anna squeezed his bicep. Chuck shot her a warning look.

“It’s Raleigh,” their last hope said.

“Whatever,” Chuck said. “Look, you’re Pentecost’s bright idea. My old man, he seems to like you, but it’s guys like you who brought down the Jaeger Program. To me, you’re dead weight. You slow me down, I’m gonna drop you like a sack of Kaiju shit.” Chuck got up and pulled on his Striker Eureka cap. “See you around,  _ Raleigh _ .”

Chuck started out of the mess hall. “Come on, Max,” he called.

Max trotted after him, the two disappearing from sight.

“Blame me for that one,” Herc said. “I raised him on my own. Smart kid, but I never knew whether to give him a hug or a kick in the ass.”

Had he really raised Chuck, though? Anna liked Herc, but even she admitted that Herc’s method of ‘raising’ Chuck had been to chuck him into a Conn-Pod when he was old enough. And the two hadn’t really talked since… well, since before Anna had met them. Unlike her and Hermann, Chuck and Herc didn’t talk. Chuck didn’t have the support system she did.

“With respect, sir,” Raleigh said, “I’m pretty sure which one he needs.”

“He really is just in a bad mood right now,” Anna said. “I do apologize, Ranger. Chuck is just jetlagged. I’m sure he’ll be in a much better mood once he’s had a nap.”

She wished that a nap would have been enough to settle Chuck’s temper. She didn’t have time to go after him; there were twenty-three things on her to-do list, and none of them were soothing Chuck’s temper.

“Why are you apologizing for him?” Raleigh asked.

“We grew up together,” Anna said.

She decided not to say that she, Mako, and Chuck had pretty much raised each other. That Chuck didn’t know how to deal with people because he had been at war since he was twelve and had been piloting a Jaeger since before he could drive.

“Sorry you had to deal with him,” Raleigh said.

“I’m not,” Anna said, glaring at Raleigh. “He’s one of my best friends, Ranger Becket. He’s been in combat since he was sixteen and has ten Kaiju kills, more than any pilot other than his father. Chuck is the best Jaeger pilot in the PPDC.” Anna stood up. “Apologies, Ranger Hansen. I have some business to deal with in the lab.”

“What, you do research as well?”

Anna turned around, tears in her eyes. “As it happens, my office is there,” she snapped. “If you require anything, please send a request there.”

Anna stormed off in the general direction Chuck had gone earlier.

“They’ve always been close,” Herc said, snagging a roll. “The poor girl has been fighting the UN for funding for the past year and a half, arguing with her grandfather that the Jaeger Program is essential.”

They hadn’t wanted to put her in charge of that at such a young age, but they didn’t have any other options. Herc had thought that Lars would be moved by the fact that his granddaughter was arguing for the PPDC; Stacker had known that no emotional manipulation would have worked on Lars. It never had.

“Looks like she hasn’t been successful,” Raleigh said.

“Not for lack of trying. She’s as against the Wall of Life as they come,” Herc said. “Has a bit of a temper, but she’ll cool down. She and my son have always been close, since we moved to this Dome.”

“They together or something?”

Herc shook his head. “No. And, unless you want Chuck to kick your arse, I don’t suggest mentioning anything like that around him.”

“Sore spot?”

“My son has his heart in the right place, some of the time,” Herc said, “but he doesn’t want to start something with her when there’s the possibility of him not coming back.”


	3. Tentative Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna becomes even more stressed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for stopping by! Quick note: the next chapter is somewhat-written, so it might be a while. The good news is that the last few chapters just need slight editing, but it's the middle bit that's going to take a little while. I am also working on the next chapter in their teenage years, but Mako and Chuck are difficult to write as angsty teens. It _will_ be out before this fic is over because it's very necessary for a chapter. With that, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Anna entered the lab, kicking Kaiju guts off of the half she shared with Hermann as she walked over to her desk. She was starting to get used to the stench of chalk and Kaiju guts and formaldehyde; she hated that. She hated being stuck in a lab with her uncle and his former-crush-turned-nemesis and the Kaiju guts that seemed to be everywhere.

Since her job was still, technically, being Hermann’s assistant, her desk was in his lab. That hadn’t been a problem when it had just been him or just him and Caitlin, when Anna had just fetched things for them and translated documents to be sent to Shatterdomes or translated emails from the J-Tech lab in Tokyo. But now Caitlin’s desk was Anna’s because Caitlin was better used arguing with the UN, and Newt had come in and ruined their peace and quiet with his bloody (not in the literal, but figurative sense; Kaiju blue was a biohazard) Kaiju guts.

“I see the Australian team is here,” Hermann said, briefly looking at his niece before turning back to his chalkboard. “How are they?”

Hermann had been spending more and more time at his chalkboards, coming up with the math to prove his theory about the Breach. Anna usually had to bring lunch in because he wouldn't remember when meals were, but, judging from the half-eaten sandwich balanced precariously on top of statistics textbooks, Hermann had gone to the dining hall somewhat recently.

“They’re fine,” Anna said, carefully picking her way around the Kaiju guts. “Newton, we’ve had this discussion. You need to keep anything organic on your side of the lab.”

“And we’ve had the discussion about you calling me ‘Newton’,” Newt said from where he was dissecting a Kaiju organ, “at least twice a day since you were seventeen.”

“Yes, well, me calling you ‘Newton’ doesn’t cause acid to burn through the floor, now does it?” Anna asked, sitting at her desk and paging through a folder. “Newton, for the last time, snacks are not a necessary research supply. We are in the middle of rationing!”

They had been on rations for five years now, longer than Newt had been at a Shatterdome. Newt still tried to request sweets and expensive coffee every time he sent in a requisitions form, which was much more often than Anna liked. They had a very strict budget (which was much smaller than most of the Shatterdome thought), and requisitions forms were meant for necessary supplies like extension cords for LOCCENT, not sweets.

“Maybe not for you,” Newt sniffed, “seeing as you have a stash of candy in your desk.”

Her sweets, however, weren’t requisitioned. Her friends had, before the PPDC started shutting down, sent her care packages. They still did, though nowadays they included more necessities that the PPDC required. The Hong Kong government gave them fresh fish, but they didn’t give them very good toothpaste. Or, really, any toothpaste.

“Which I’ve had boobytrapped since I was fifteen,” Anna said, shoving a lemon drop in her mouth. “Don’t touch my chocolate, Newton, not unless you want to say good-bye to your fingers. I eat this instead of drinking.”

“Did I come at a bad time?” Herc asked, knocking on the door.

“No, not at all,” Anna said, standing up. “How may I help you, Ranger Hansen?”

“I have a package for you.” Herc held out her skirt and blouse, neatly folded. Her stockings were laid on top.

Anna crossed the room carefully, not wanting to embarrass herself further by tripping over Kaiju guts. “Thank you. Sorry for leaving my personal belongings in a public area,” she said. “It won’t happen again.”

“You had sex in the sparring room?” Newt asked.

There was a loud thwack, almost like the sound of Newt getting hit by a cane, before Hermann came over to where Anna and Herc were standing.

“My apologies,” Hermann said, something like a smile on his lips. “Newton has been in somewhat of a mood today.”

“I’m going to go change,” Anna said. “And Newton?”

“What?” Newt asked, rubbing his shoulder.

“Imply I’m sleeping around again and you’ll  _ wish _ that it was Uncle Hermann using the cane on you.”

With that, Anna left the lab, clutching her clothes to her. It had always been a sore topic, the fact that Anna had never exactly had a partner. Her first kiss wouldn’t have even happened if Mako hadn’t seen some romantic anime and decided to see if something would work, tripping someone so they ‘met cute’ with someone else.

It didn’t work if the two of them had known each other since they were eleven. Chuck and Anna had been so embarrassed that they almost hadn’t spoken for two days, and they never spoke of that day.

There had been a thing with Henry Gage, nephew of the pilots of Romeo Blue and an admin from the UN, but it had been an exceptionally brief first date, especially when he said that he thought the Wall of Life was a good idea. Anna had enough manners not to walk out of the restaurant right then and there, but she had bluntly turned him down when he mentioned the possibility of a second date.

She went back to her quarters to change into something a little more comfortable. They weren’t meeting with the council for another few days; she could wear jeans and trainers. It wasn’t like anyone still in the Shatterdome cared what she wore; they certainly hadn’t cared enough to remind her that she was still in workout clothes. Not even Hermann, who usually nagged her about professionalism.

There was a knock on her door not long after she had changed.

“It’s me,” Chuck said from the other side.

Anna opened the door. “Hey,” she said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

Chuck looked around. It hadn’t changed much at all. Given how much travelling Hermann and Anna had done over the past decade, they had kept their quarters in Hong Kong. Anna’s walls were still covered in Impressionist prints, pictures, and newspaper articles. With some pride, Chuck noted that there was a corner of the wall with every one of Striker Eureka’s kills, including one on Mutavore from the day before, and a sheet of the limited-edition stickers that had come out when Striker had been launched for the first time.

“I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

He was sick of Shatterdome food. From what he’d seen, all of their old favorites were still open, including Anna’s absolute favorite.

“Depends,” she said, crossing her arms.

Whenever Anna was mad, she would speak in quick, short sentences. Getting her to explain why she was mad was like pulling teeth. Chuck was just glad that she hadn’t switched to German.

“On what?”

“Which Chuck shows up.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Whether it’s going to be Chuck, my best friend, or Ranger Chuck Hansen, the youngest Ranger in the world,” she said. “You let it go to your head again.”

“Is this about Becket?” he asked.

“Piloting a Jaeger is a two-person job,” Anna said. “You should try to remember that you’re not the only pilot of Striker Eureka.”

“He worked on the wall. Did he tell you that?”

He hadn’t needed to. Stacker had informed her before he got on the helicopter to fetch Raleigh. In fact, he had mentioned that they found him not all that far from what had been the Anchorage Shatterdome.

“He didn’t say a word about it after you left. In fact, he said that he was sorry that I had to deal with you when we were kids.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Anna nodded. “And I defended you, so don’t pretend you’re the almighty Ranger Chuck Hansen to me,” she spat. “Try not to believe your own press all the time.”

Chuck blinked. “You… did that?” he asked.

“Of course I did,” Anna said. “You have an ego, though, and Raleigh has you pegged.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Chuck asked.

Anna rolled her eyes. “You’re Chuck Hansen, the youngest and one of the most successful Rangers in the PPDC,” she said. “Guys want to be you, and girls want to be snuck into the Shatterdome by you. I know what you got up to in Sydney. Jaeger Flies just want a Ranger, Chuck; they don’t care which one.”

Every single time she saw a news report about Chuck or another article about his latest fling, Anna felt sick to her stomach. It was jealousy, it had always been jealousy. But he had been half a world away, and it was clear that childhood best friend wasn’t his type. When he dated, which wasn’t very often and not for very long, he would go for leggy blonde models who were only with him because he killed Kaiju for a living.

She stepped towards him. “You and Raleigh want the same thing,” she said. “And it’s the same thing I want.”

“And what’s that?” Chuck asked.

“We all want the Kaiju to finally be gone,” she said. “I’ll work with a bloke who worked on the wall if it means that they’ll finally be dead, and we can end this war.”

“So you’re for the wall now?” Chuck asked. “After everything your grandfather put you through?”

“Not at all,” Anna said. “But he’s one man who was working so he could live. How is that any different from what you’re doing?”

Chuck glared at her. “He’s a washout,” he said. “He hasn’t been in a Jaeger since his brother died.”

“What else do you think the Marshal could do?” she asked. “He can’t get into another Jaeger.”

“Even you and Mako would be a better choice than that has-been.”

Wow, he actually mentioned Mako without Anna having to bring her up. Shocker.

“I have no training and am not a pilot and Mako has a bunch of simulation kills, but no practical training in the Pons,” Anna said. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but Raleigh Becket is the best chance we have.”

Chuck crossed his arms. “How do we know he won’t run off again?”

“We don’t. We just have to trust the Marshal.”

He didn’t say anything.

She touched his arm. “Chuck,” she said. “The Marshal wouldn’t do this unless it were a last resort. We’ve looked into other ways, but this is the only viable option.”

She and Pentecost had looked into every single option that was even remotely possible, but there had only been one that could have worked. Caitlin was arguing with Lars in New York, and they needed her there; Sergio was too sick, too out-of-shape, to get back in a Jaeger. They had exhausted all other options long before Stacker had flown to Anchorage.

Not that they could have used Brawler Yukon, anyway. It had been mothballed once Sergio got sick. No one wanted to take it apart for parts, and Anna didn’t want another team in Caitlin and Sergio’s Jaeger. It didn’t feel right to use the first Jaeger, not when they had others. Danger was in good shape and had a better system. Hermann had helped Mako reprogram it.

His breathing slowed. “I still don’t like the bastard,” he said.

“From what I remember of him, he was a good pilot,” she said. “Bit of a flirt, but he was there when it mattered.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “And he’s just running defense. That’s all. You and Ranger Hansen will be running the bomb. Not him.”

Chuck put his hand on her waist, not pulling her into a hug just yet. “We’ll have two other Jaegers protecting us,” he said.

He had known the Kaidonovskies since the very beginning. Aleksis had let them ride on his shoulders when they had been kids, and Sasha had taught Mako and Anna how to defend themselves from any would-be creeps. The Wei triplets had taught them how to gamble through beating them every time. They were family, and Chuck trusted his family above everyone else.

Anna nodded. “It will be fine,” she said. “Everything will be fine.”

He pulled her into a tight hug. “And then we can do whatever it is people do outside of the PPDC,” he said, tucking her head under his chin.

“Not that we even know what they do,” Anna said into his chest. “After we finish this, I want to go back to London.”

“You’re moving back?”

Anna barely remembered living in London. She and Hermann had spent more time in Berlin, but that had always had the added baggage of having to see Anna’s father.

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “Just to visit. And then I want to travel.”

Chuck kissed the top of her head. “Travelling would be nice,” he said. “But first, we need dinner. What do you say to some noodles?”

They had been going to the noodle shop since the Shatterdome had been under construction. In those first few months, there hadn’t been a dining hall. They had trekked to various restaurants for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

“I miss when things were simpler,” Anna said as they sat at the counter, watching the noodles being made.

The owner of the shop knew exactly who the two young adults sitting at the counter were. In ten years, he hadn’t told the press that members of the PPDC stopped by his shop. It was where Anna had spent quite a bit of time away from the Shatterdome, wanting to pretend, just for one meal, that her entire life wasn’t going to amount to nothing because of stupid budget cuts. That she was just a simple admin getting noodles after a long day of boring administrative tasks.

“Back when we got into a fight in the restaurant down the street?” Chuck asked.

Anna laughed. “It was a simpler time,” she said. “And, to be honest, that was how my other interactions with children my age had gone.”

There was a reason why she had been homeschooled for most of her schooling, and it hadn’t entirely been because of Hermann’s inability to not become absorbed in his work and forget to pick her up from school.

“Is that what the altercation in kindergarten had been?”

Anna blushed. “If you must know,” she said, trying to regain her dignity, “Ernst Becker had insulted Uncle Hermann. I simply defended Uncle Hermann’s honor.”

“I think the old man was cheering when you had me in a headlock,” Chuck said.

“And he turned purple in rage when you and Mako got into a fight,” Anna said. “Must you get into a fight with everyone your age in the PPDC?”

It was Chuck’s turn to blush.

“I thought she was going to steal you,” he muttered.

The fight in question had started so quickly that Anna hadn’t even known what was happening until Chuck had a black eye and Mako had a cut lip.

“Charles Angus Hansen, no one could ever possibly steal me away from you,” Anna said. “And no one could ever steal me away from Mako.”

Chuck was quiet as he watched the chef make noodles. It had always entranced the two, how he made noodles so skillfully.

“If Mako had been allowed to complete training, do you think you would have been sent to the academy?” he asked, still watching the noodles.

Anna had, in fact, thought quite a bit about that very scenario. Had Herc been injured, she likely would have been sent to the academy so they didn’t waste a good pilot. She and Chuck were extraordinarily Drift-compatible, though their testing had been done illicitly one night at the academy. If Mako had been allowed to go through training, Anna would have pushed to be her co-pilot. But that day was never going to come.

“Possibly,” Anna said. “I’m surprised you didn’t fight Uncle Hermann tooth and nail to get me in as your copilot.”

Chuck hadn’t bothered asking Hermann after he turned fifteen. Hermann had simply shaken his head and explained that the orders had come from above, far above even Stacker himself, and that there was nothing he nor Chuck could do to change it.

“The old man told me to stand down. That they needed you more with Dr. Gottlieb than with me.”

Herc had taken him aside before Chuck could bother Stacker when the Marshal visited Sydney. He explained to his son that there was no chance that Anna would be going to the academy; the two of them would never be copilots, and, it went without saying, Chuck would be stuck with his father as his copilot.

“Uncle Hermann needed a lot of help. Now that we’re in one place, he doesn’t need as much help, but he and Newton are still fighting all the time.”

“Still as bad as they were when they met?” Chuck asked.

“I think they’ve gotten worse,” she admitted, “which I didn’t think was possible.”

They stayed in the restaurant after they finished their noodles, taking a chance to catch up and relax outside of the Shatterdome.

“I can’t believe it, but I missed Hong Kong,” Chuck said as they were walking back.

Anna was happy to see that Chuck had brought his red umbrella along, holding it above them as it poured. No matter how much they had changed, some things were still close to the same.

“It feels like home, doesn’t it?” she asked.

He nodded. “So did Anchorage,” he said. “Even with the early morning runs and the maths classes.”

“I always liked this Shatterdome the best. Maybe because I met my best friends here.”

Chuck pulled her close with one arm. “I wonder if our lawn chairs are still on that bit of roof,” he said.

“Last I checked, they were.”

Perhaps she had cordoned that ladder off as ‘potentially dangerous’. No one needed to know that they had three lawn chairs and a cooler hidden up there. She still went up there occasionally, when Newt got to be too much or she just wanted a break from work. The cooler was, alas, empty because J-Tech could sniff out alcohol like Newt sniffed out inappropriate conversation topics.

“When this is all over, the three of us are getting some beers and staying up there. I don’t care if it’s pissing down.”

They got to the Shatterdome just before curfew, waving sheepishly at the security guards on duty. It wasn’t the first time they had barely made it in, and it certainly wasn’t the latest they had ever returned.

“See you in the morning?” Anna asked when they were standing in the hallway between their quarters.

“Where else would I be?” Chuck asked. “I could never pass up a chance to have PPDC Porridge.”

PPDC Porridge was congee with chunks of meat and egg mixed in. It was packed with protein and a staple of many Rangers’ diets due to the nutritional value and relatively simple recipe. It was also an acquired taste, though Anna particularly enjoyed the sausage and mushroom PPDC Porridge that they served in Anchorage.

Anna smiled. “It’s nice to have you back,” she said, hugging him before she went into her quarters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think!


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